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Saturday, October 16, 2010

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.

Rosemary(Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary is an attractive evergreen shrub with pine needle-like leaves. It's trusses of blue flowers last through the year in a warm, humid environment. It will grow to a height of between 3 and 5 feet.

Cultivation

The fundamentals for successfully growing rosemary are well-drained soil, and allow the plant lots of sun. You can grow rosemary in the ground year round. Provide a sandy, well draining soil and 6-8 hours of full sunlight. It's easier to grow your rosemary in a pot all year. Since rosemary likes it on the dry side, terracotta pots are an especially good choice. You can grow Rosemary from cuttings of the twisted wood of non-flowering branches, or layer established branches. Rosemary can also be grown from seed. In a warm climate it can remain in the same location for up to 30 years.

Culinary Uses

Rosemary has one of those distinctive, strong flavours that convince the palate that herbs aren't just delicate things reserved for dainty soups and sprinkling on baby vegetables. It takes hold of the taste buds with a woodsy flavour, somewhat piny, mint like yet sweeter, with a slight ginger finish. It can also be used as a subtle accent, using just a hint of the flavour lightening the mood of an otherwise mundane sauce or pastry. Its flavour harmonizes with those of poultry, fish, lamb, beef, and pork particularly in their roasted forms. Rosemary enhances tomatoes spinach, peas, mushrooms, squash, cheese, eggs, lentils, and complements the herbs chives, thyme, chervil, parsley, and bay in recipes. Soups like potato and eggplant benefit from rosemary's robust character, as do marinades, salad dressings, bouquet garnish, and cream —sauces. You can use both the flowers and leaves for garnishing and cooking. Crush or mince the spiky leaves before sprinkling over or rubbing into foods.

Rosemary for Remembrance

Scientists say that the scent of rosemary is an effective memory stimulant. This might make a nice potted plant for your desk at work, or where the kids do their homework!

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Tiramisu Chapter of Love

Tiramisu is a layered dessert, consisting of alternating layers of coffee-soaked sponge fingers biscuits and sweet mixture of mascarpone cheese. Cocoa powder is sifted on top (and sometimes between layers) as both a garnish and a bitter counterpoint to the sweetened cheese mixture. To prepare the biscuit layer, light, finger-sized sponge fingers are soaked in espresso or strong coffee, often with an addition of flavorful liquor such as Kahlua coffee flavored liqueur. For the mascarpone cheese layer, a Zabaglione a simple Italian custard is first prepared: egg yolks are mixed with sugar and liquor and whipped until light in color. Mascarpone cheese is then beaten into the custard, and whipped cream is often added to lighten the mixture. This mixture is spread over the coffee-soaked biscuits, often topped with a dusting of cocoa powder, and more layers are added.